Wheel.



No. 837,153. PATENTED NOV. 27, 1906. J. THOMSON.

WHEEL.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 24. 1905.

2 SHEETB-SHEET l m7 QWQM/KM Z UNITED STATES r arE 'r' OFFICE.

JOHN rHoMsoN, or. ew YORK, N. Y.,Ass1oNoR TO TRIDENT TIREI COMPANY.OFNEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

WHEEL.

specification of Letters Patent.

Patentediii'ov. 27, 1906.

Application filed November 24, 1906. Serial No. 288.832.

T5 at whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN THOMSON, a citizen of the United States,residin in the borough ofManhattan, city of New %ork, in the State of.New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Wheels,of which the following is a specification, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, forming a part hereof.

This invention relates to. cushion-tired wheels for vehiclesthat is, towheels in which cushioning devices are interposedbetween the body of thewheel and the roadsurfaceand more especially to wheels of this characterin which the cushion portion,

' or the part thereof which is chiefly relied and in which in section.

upon for its. resilience, is a pneumatic tube.

The object of the invention is to provide a simple and inexpensiveconstruction in which the pneumatic tube shall be guarded againstpuncture, against excessive distortion through extraordinary load orcontact of the moving wheel with an obstacle, and against wear andpossible rupture through side strains when the vehicle is turning acorner or is traveling upon a laterally-inclined roadsurface.

The invention will be more fullydescribed hereinafter with reference tothe accompanying drawings, in which it is illustrated as embodied in aconvenient and practical form,

Fi re 1 is a partial side view of a vehiclewhee which has the presentimprovement applied thereto, the same being shown partly Fig. 2 isa'vertical central section of the wheel, the parts bein represented inthe relative positions which they have under normal load. Fi 3 is a viewsimilar to face of the felly Fig. 2, but showing t e relations which theparts assume under excessive load or when the moving wheel meets anobstruction.

The body of the wheel, represented by the hub a, the spokes a, and thefelly 0. may be of any usual or referred construction, the eihgpreferably smooth to permit the easy application and removal of acompound rim or tire, as hereinafter described. In the form of inventionshown in the drawin s there is a plied to the felly a a metal ringwhicl1,wit 'itsdetachable member b, forms a seat and a lateral guard forthe pneumatic tube 0. The ring member I) is seated upon the ring member6, as shown at 12 and may be secured thereto by bolts b thisconstruction affording the necessary strength and rigidity. Thetube-guard b i) is adapted to be slipped upon the felly a with a snugfit and to be detachably secured thereto by bolts b as shown, so thatthe guard-ring or wheel-rim,'with its associated parts, can be readilyapplied to or removed from the body of the wheel when necessary; Thecompound ring I) 6 not only furnishes a seat for the pneumatic tube 0,but it is provided with cheek-pieces b, which are extended outwardlyfrom the center of the wheel, as shown, and are preferably curved incross-section, so as .to conform substantially to the pneumatic tube 0when the latter is in place. The edges or lips I) are preferably turnedin toward each other somewhat and faced in parallel planes at rightangles to the axis of the wheel to form between them an openin which ispreferably of somewhat less wi th than the tube 0.

Applied to the pneumatic tube 0, which may e of ordinaryconstruction,-is a rigid ring (I d, fitting the pneumatic tire snuglywhen the latter is inflated and preferably formed in two parts (1 and d,respectively, the one part being seated upon the other, as shown at (1while the two parts are securely held together, as by bolts (1 Inthe-outer face of the com ound rigid ring (I d, which may be of metawood, fiber, or other suit able material, is formed a recess for thereception of a shoe or tread ortion e. Theinmltted, while'dust and dirtare readily expelled.

In assembling the parts of the improved structure the ring member I) isfirst slip ed upon the felly a and may be secured in p ace thereon bythe bolts 1). The neumatic tube 0, partly inflated, if desired, is thenput in place, together with the rin d d and the shoe or tread portion e,whic is securely is clam ed and held firmly between them' closing ringbeing forme 1n two parts, as

clamped between the parts of-the ring, and the ring member I) is thenapplied and secured in place by the bolts 6. Wh'en the pneumatic tube isproperly inflated, the

parts under normal .load are related, as

clearly shown in Figs; 1 and 2, the tread ortion 6 protruding betweenthe lips 6". en, however, the wheel is'subjecte to excessive load orbeing in motion meets an obstruction, the pneumatic tube is distorted,and the rin d d and shoe or tread portion e are presse in between thelips I) of the sup 0 ting-rim in proportion to the load or shoc ioShould the load be so great as to endanger the pneumatic tube, the'facesb. of the su porting-s rim will make contact with the roa -surface beingbroadened for that purpose, and will prevent further distortion of thetube. Furthermore, as will be observed, whether the load be light orheavy all lateral thrusts are transmitted through the ring d d to thering members 7) b", which are of a form well adapted to resist suchlateral pressure, and the mored a ains't puncture.

pneumatic tube is thereby completely protected from in'ury from suchlateral strains. At the same time the tube is preferably ar- It willalso be observed t at the extent of the pneumatic tube which issubjected to pressure under load is substantially one-half of the whole,being from five to seven times greater thanqthe extent of'the tube whichwould make contact With the road-surface if it were not protected by thering d d. The pneumatic tube will therefore perform proper] itsffunctionalthou 'h' inflated to a much ess degree than would. e necessaj if itmade direct contact with the-road-su ace. For this reason and alsobecause it is properly armored, against puncture the tube may be made ofmuchghter materialthan is usually employed. Whatever dirt, mud, and.water may'enter within the supporting and protecting shell between thering d d and the lips b is immediately ex elled through the pumpingaction of the tu e and ring'as the wheel rotates upon the road-surface.It will be observed, furthermore that the rings and tube can be readilyapplied to and removed from any wheel of a iven size, permitting repairsto be made quit-Edy when required or a Wheel of the given size to bequickly equipped with the cushioning devices. It will be understood, ofcourse, that the form of the parts may be varied as re uired to suitdifferent conditions of use an that the invention is therefore not to berestricted to the particular form shown. I cla1m as my invention- Acushion-rim for a vehicle-wheel'comprising a two-part supporting-ringwith means to secure the; parts together and having cheek-piecesextended outwardly and pro- 'vided with bearing-surfaces for contactwith the road surface, a pneumatic tube seated in,

said supporting ring a two-part ri id protecting-ring surrounding thetube etween the edges of the cheek-pieces andprovided with means tosecure the parts together and I a tread portion secured to saidprotectingring, substantially as described.

This specification signed and witnessed this 17th day of November, A. D.1905.

In 4 presence of i Hm M'OtCRossy v WALTER C. BURKE.

7 JOHN THOMSON. I

